Charleston WV – These events happened on these dates in West Virginia, according to the wvencyclopedia.org.
Nov. 6, 1863. Confederate forces led by Brig. Gen John Echols were defeated at Droop Mountain by a larger federal force led by Brig Gen. William W. Averell. This was one of the last significant Civil War battles in the state.
Nov. 7, 1775. The Cheat Baptist Church was organized in what is now Monongalia County. It is the oldest continuously operating Baptist church in West Virginia.
Nov. 8, 1874. Matthew M. Neely was born in Doddridge County. Neely was the 21st governor of West Virginia. He died in 1958.
Nov. 9, 1909. A methane gas explosion and fire at the Consolidation Coal Company’s No. 8 mine at the head of Helen’s Run near Farmington in Marion County took the lives of 88 miners. Of the 169 miners inside at the time of the explosion, only 81 escaped. In total, 160 fatalities occurred at the mine over the next six months.
Nov. 9, 1929. The Huntington Museum of Art was founded. It now stands on more than 50 acres in the Huntington hills.
Nov. 10, 1979: The last section of the New River Gorge was established by Congress as a National Park and Preserve in southern West Virginia.
Nov. 11, 1922: Jane Taylor, country music singer-songwriter and WVVQ radio personality, was born in Kermit, Mingo County.
Nov. 12, 1968: An explosion at the Consolidation Coal Company’s No. 9 mine in Marion County killed 78 miners. It was a catalyst for the passage of the landmark federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969.